Afghanistan’s Embassy in Kuwait Handed Over to Taliban Diplomats
News sources have reported that Afghanistan’s embassy in Kuwait has been transferred to diplomats from the Taliban administration, marking a continuation of the group’s efforts to expand its diplomatic presence in regional countries. So far, neither Kuwaiti officials nor the Taliban administration have made any public statements regarding this development.
According to these sources, Shafiq Khatib, Head of Consular and Border Affairs at the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been appointed as the chargé d’affaires of the Afghan embassy in Kuwait. No further details have been released about the official start date of his tenure.
Earlier, at the beginning of the last month of the Afghan calendar year (Hoot), reports emerged about negotiations to reactivate this diplomatic mission. At that time, Hafiz Omar, the Taliban’s ambassador to Oman, held talks with Mohammed Nasser Al-Hajri, Kuwait’s ambassador in Muscat, regarding the resumption of operations at Afghanistan’s embassy in Kuwait, with Kuwaiti officials expressing readiness to cooperate.
In recent years, some Gulf countries, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, have entrusted Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions to individuals appointed by the Taliban administration. This trend continues even though the Taliban has yet to be officially recognized by any country and still faces serious regional and international criticism due to extensive restrictions on fundamental rights, especially those of women and girls.
Experts believe that expanding diplomatic relations without clear accountability for human rights demands may heighten concerns over the gradual legitimization of the Taliban administration—a matter on which Kuwait has yet to issue any official response.
